My passion for instrumental compositions started back during my piano lessons. I played the classics for recital pieces but every once in a while I was able to talk my piano instructor into letting me perform a more contemporary piece such as the "Theme from Exodus" or "Malaguenia". These compositions meant more to me than the classics. They are just as timeless as far as I am concerned. With my rock 'n roll influences and my study of classical music, it was only natural that I would eventually want to compose material with memorable melodies and upbeat rhythms.

A contemporary musical composer who has influenced my writing is Mike Post. He has composed excellent, memorable TV themes such as the themes for "Hill Street Blues", "L. A. Law", " The Rockford Files", "Law & Order", "Silk Stalkings", "NYPD Blue" and so many more. One of his most recent compositions is the theme for the brand new TV show starring Kim Delaney called "Philly" on ABC. He is, without a doubt, one of the most popular modern day composers of our time.

This one has been called "haunting", "powerful" but mostly "inspirational". Like most of my compositions, I came up with a rhythm before I wrote the melody. I'm a rock 'n roll person at heart and strong drums and bass drive a lot of my songs. I wrote this for my wife so she would quit telling me how great Yanni is. It worked. I haven't heard her mention his name once since I named this composition after her and gave it to her on her birthday in 1992.

Imagine a party near the Mexican Border. There are different movements in this piece to reflect the different rhythms and feelings the music may have in the course of a night. I used typically Hispanic instrumentation but with heavier drums and bass than you might find in some Hispanic music. I created trumpets, a mandolin, a violin, and even a nylon-string guitar. I wrote this composition in 2000 specifically for this project.

This composition is nearly 30 years old. It's had many different titles and a variety of productions over the years but the basic tune has never changed. I wrote the melody in a dream in 1972. I woke up around 4:00am with it still in my head, went to the old upright piano in my living room and started playing it. I recorded a rough version of it the next day and I still have that original tape.

The temptation to overproduce this one was great. I had to resist putting all kinds of extra countermelodies in it. "A lullaby is simple and repetitive" I kept saying to myself as I recorded the tracks. I did give myself some freedom at the end to have a little fun. The drums really carry this composition.

Originally titled "Mikey's Shuffle", this song was a "couch" melody. I used to keep a small electronic keyboard in the living room so that if I got an idea, I could just lean over and start creating. I was watching a "Law & Order" episode that I had taped the previous evening when the idea for this composition came to me. You just never know when or where you will get your next song. The title change didn't come about until last year. I decided there were enough songs with peoples' names in them on this CD.

(2 seperate mp3s)

"It's About Time!" is a 19 year old composition that I wrote on the road. It's been labeled "uplifting", "fun" and very danceable. (I wouldn't know about the dancing part because I have two very big 'left' feet.) The prelude was an addition to the song last year. The chord pattern came to me in a music store when I was messing around in their keyboard section. The end of the piece (which is over 10 minutes long) was also an addition that I wrote in 2000. The chord pattern used in "Prelude" is also the same chord pattern used in the brass finale at the end of the song.

The title came to me when I was playing the song. I literally wrote this piece with my eyes closed many years ago but never came up with a title I liked until I rediscovered it in 1999. I'm especially proud of the strings in the final passage which is a recent addition to the composition. Originally, this was to be a 4/4 ballad but when I decided to look at it for this CD, I wanted it to have a rhythm completely different from any other on this CD.

This composition is a complete departure from everything else on the CD. First of all, there isn't a piano to be found anywhere in the production. I use the synth guitar sound in a couple other places on the disc, but here, I feature it. The title was originally "Saturday's Cruise". When I was a teenager, we used to "cruise" through different fast food parking lots much like the generation before us "cruised" through restaurant parking lots that had curb service. "Cruisin'" music back then included instrumentals like "Walk, Don't Run" (The Ventures), "Green Onions" & "Hip-Hug Her" (Booker 'T' & The MG's), "Wipe Out" (The Surfaris) and many others. This composition felt like a "cruisin" song to me, thus the name. I changed it to Millennium Kruise last year for the new Millennium (which is really this year) and used a 'K' instead of a 'C' so that the song would have my initials. (Ah, the secret is finally out.)